In computer systems having visual displays for providing output to a user, many onscreen objects have actions that can be executed with respect to them. For example, a desktop icon can often be double-clicked to launch an application, and a hyperlink can often be single-clicked to navigate to a linked webpage.
As used herein, the term “object” refers to a visual item, represented as data in computer memory, that when rendered visually on a computer display, can be selected by a user (e.g., via a pointing device or other input mechanism). Examples of objects include, but are not limited to, icons, buttons, menus, document headings, sliders, visual containers, graphs, and text. As used herein, the term “visual container” refers to any object that includes (i.e., contains) one or more other objects within it. An example of a visual container is a window. As used herein, the term “onscreen object” refers to any visual rendering of an object on a display.
Many onscreen objects have a primary action associated with the object, as well as a set of one or more secondary actions associated with the object. As used herein, the term “primary action,” when used with reference to an onscreen object, refers to an action that occurs when a user selects the onscreen object using the primary selection mechanism of a pointing device, e.g., via left-click (e.g., for a mouse), tap (e.g., for a touchpad), or other primary pointing device selection mechanism. Non-limiting examples of onscreen object primary actions include activating a button, navigating a link, setting the input focus to a textbox, and opening a menu.
As used herein, the term “secondary action” refers to a non-primary action performed in the context of an onscreen object being pointed at using a pointing device. Often there is a set of several secondary actions available for a particular onscreen object. Non-limiting examples of secondary actions include opening the onscreen object in an alternate application or view, renaming the onscreen object, copying the onscreen object to the clipboard, and retrieving spell checker suggestions for the onscreen object.